Strategic Planning for Dummies |
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Strategic planning is simply a management tool. As with any management tool, it
is used for one purpose only: to help an organization do a better job - to focus
its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working toward the
same goals, to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a
changing environment. In short, strategic planning is a disciplined effort to
produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an
organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future.
Good strategic planning:
leads to directed action
builds a shared vision with common values
is an inclusive, participatory process in which all employees have ownership
is based on quality data
requires an openness to questioning the status quo
What are the steps?
1.) Getting Ready
2.) Articulating Mission and Vision
3.) Assessing the Situation
4.) Developing Strategies, Goals, and Objectives
5.) Completing the Written Plan
If your corporate vision is askew, your tech is a mess, your process doesn't flow, or your employees don't produce, you
may need to do some strategic planning, if for no other reason that to do step 3: find out where you are.
If this service is of interest to your company, please contact us. We can be reached at: 412-478-3139
or info@infiniteseriesgroup.com
Step One - Getting Ready
To get ready for strategic planning, an organization must first assess if it
is ready. While a number of issues must be addressed in assessing readiness, the
determination essentially comes down to whether an organization's leaders are
truly committed to the effort, and whether they are able to devote the necessary
attention to the "big picture".
A company that determines it is indeed ready to begin
strategic planning must perform five tasks to pave the way for an organized
process:
- identify specific issues or choices that the planning process should address
- clarify roles (who does what in the process)
- create a Planning Committee
- develop an organizational profile
- identify the information that must be collected to help make sound
decisions.
The product developed at the end of the Step One is a Workplan.
Step Two - Articulating Mission and Vision
A strategic plan mission statement communicates the essence of
a company to the reader. A company's ability to articulate its
mission indicates its focus and purposefulness. A mission statement typically
describes a company in terms of its:
- Purpose - why it exists and what it seeks to
accomplish
- Business - the main product or service which the company tries offer
- Values - the principles or beliefs that guide an company's employees as
they pursue the company's purpose
Whereas the mission
statement summarizes the what, how, and why of an company's work, a vision
statement presents an image of what success will look like.
At the end of Step Two, a draft mission statement and a draft vision statement is developed.
Step Three - Assessing the Situation
Once a company has committed to why it exists and what it does, it must
take a look at its current situation. Part of strategic planning, thinking, and management is an keeping an
eye on the future so a company can successfully respond
to changes in the environment. Hence, situation assessment means obtaining
current information about the company's strengths, weaknesses, and
performance, information that will highlight the critical issues that the
organization faces and that its strategic plan must address.
The products of Step Three include: a workup of qualitative and quantitative information that can be used to make decisions;
process maps which show the flow of products, services and information within a company; a list of critical issues which demand a response;
and a prioritized issues list that the company needs to address.
Step Four - Developing Strategies, Goals, and Objectives
Once an organization's mission has been affirmed and its critical issues & processes
identified, it is time to figure out what to do about them. Strategies, goals, and objectives come from
strategic planning meetings, individual discussion and other brainstorming sessions. In the end, the leadership must
agree how to address the critical issues.
The product of Step Four is
an outline of the company's strategic directions - the general strategies,
process goals, and specific objectives in response to the critical
issues.
Step Five - Completing the Written Plan
The final step involves putting all that down on paper. We will draft a final
planning document and submit it for review to all key decision makers. This is
also the time to consult with senior staff to determine whether
the document can be translated into operating plans and to
ensure that the plan answers key questions about priorities and directions in
sufficient detail to serve as a guide.
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